Haiti's Vital Port Shuts Down Amid Escalating Gang Attacks

Access to a critical port in Port-au-Prince is closed due to gang-related violence. Caribbean Port Services shut down barriers, affecting land-based traffic from Sept. 26 to Sept. 29. The shuttering comes amid increased kidnappings and threats to incoming ships, exacerbating Haiti's instability and economic woes.

Land access to a vital supply port in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince is closed off after attacks by armed gangs, operator Caribbean Port Services (CPS) announced on Thursday.

CPS stated that barriers would be shuttered for all land-based traffic from Sept. 26 to Sept. 29, to enable the army and national police to secure the area. A shipping official revealed that ships faced shooting incidents, preventing them from docking and unloading containers. Authorities also reported the kidnapping of two Filipino crew members from a cargo vessel.

During the United Nations General Assembly this week, Haitian leaders highlighted the deteriorating security situation despite the partial deployment of a U.N.-backed security force. Armed gangs, predominantly equipped with U.S. weapons, now control most of Port-au-Prince and are spreading to adjacent areas.

Over 700,000 people in Haiti have been internally displaced, nearly double the figure from six months ago, as food prices and hunger rates soar. Haiti's transition council president, Edgard Leblanc Fils, at the U.N. General Assembly, called the situation a national threat and urged the Security Council to enhance the Kenyan-led security force into a formal peacekeeping mission.

Earlier this year, Haiti's main seaports and international airport shut down for nearly three months when violence peaked in February, causing widespread chaos including prison breaks and the prime minister's resignation.

(With inputs from agencies.)